Judge extends remand of Egyptian student who planned attack on Israeli consulate in NY; teen facing deportation

A magistrate court judge in Virginia has ordered that Abdullah Ezzeldin Taha Mohamed Hassan, an 18-year-old Egyptian national suspected of trying to carry out a mass-casualty attack targeting the Israeli Consulate in New York, be remanded pending the trial against him.

Hassan is currently in deportation proceedings, authorities said at a recent detention hearing for the George Mason University student.

GMU announced Thursday that Hassan had been banned from campus.

At the recent hearing, an FBI agent testified that a bureau asset reached out to Hassan who urged the informant to carry out an attack targeting the Israeli consulate, Politico reports.

The pair “discussed online weapons, tactics, getaway and specifically targeting the [consulate’s] lobby, the FBI agent testified, according to Politico.

Hassan urged the informant to livestream the attack this past Tuesday. When the day arrived, Hassan logged onto the livestream feed and both he and the informant said, “See you in heaven in the afterlife,” according to the FBI agent’s testimony.

Moments later, FBI agents burst through Hassan’s door finding him with his computer open and the livestream still running.

Prosecutors also noted during the hearing that Hassan was interviewed by the FBI in 2022 over statements he made online supporting ISIS and Al Qaeda.

Hassan ran several social media accounts that supported ISIS, al-Qaeda and Hamas, and advocated for violence against Jews, the FBI said in the complaint filed in a federal court in Virginia.